Not-So-Honest Abe: Hollywood Flunks History

EDITORIAL

Movie gets it wrong on Connecticut vote

February 11, 2013

In 1865, which way did Connecticut's congressmen vote on slavery? Hollywood has flubbed the quiz, doing the state a disservice.

All four of Connecticut's U.S. representatives voted in favor of ratifying the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery. Watch the acclaimed movie "Lincoln," however, and a different scenario unfolds: Two of the state's congressmen voted against it.

Annoyed by this distortion, Connecticut congressman Joe Courtney wrote to director Steven Spielberg to ask for a correction. What he received was a blast from the film's screenwriter, Tony Kushner, saying that Mr. Courtney misunderstood the premise of "Lincoln." It is a historical drama, not a work of history, Mr. Kushner insisted — hence, such "alterations" of fact are fine.

Not an alteration as off-base as this. Connecticut residents may have been divided over the question, but their congressmen weren't. Their unanimous vote to abolish slavery in 1865 was one of the better moments in state history. (The Courant exultantly reported at the time that "of the New England delegation, only one — Mr. Sweat, of Maine — voted against it.")

In his reply to Mr. Courtney, Mr. Kushner said, with unnecessary sarcasm, "I hope nobody is shocked to learn that I also made up dialogue and imagined encounters and invented characters." Inventions are fair game in historical drama as long as they generally fit the facts.

Granted, much of the past is unknowable: private dialogue, inner thoughts, sometimes even the exact sequence of events. The actor Daniel Day-Lewis, who brilliantly portrays the 16th president in the movie, has said he has no idea what Abraham Lincoln's voice sounded like or how he moved. He based his portrayal on research and shrewd guesswork.

But much of history is known: That Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania was a fierce opponent of slavery, for example, as well as the exact vote in the House of Representatives on Jan. 31, 1865. Even historical drama shouldn't alter such important, verifiable truths.

Mr. Kushner said that "Lincoln," historical inaccuracies and all, was "the story we wanted to tell." Good for Mr. Courtney for setting the story straight and putting Connecticut back on the right side of history.